You Put the Sun to Shame
by Intrusive.Arrogant
Summary: Katherine, the Southern girl hockey player, found her man. His name is Wade Brookbank, a Canadian NHL player who loves her a little more than she ever expected. The two of them spend a very bumpy summer in Alabama with her family. This is their story.
1. Prologue

This is my first story here on I'm excited about this one. It's definitely my best work yet and I have big plans for this story. I really would appreciate reviews and criticism. Thanks.

Oh yeah, and for any of you who don't know, this is a story based on a NHL (National Hockey League) player named Wade Brookbank who currently plays for the Carolina Hurricanes. He's really awesome. (:

**Disclaimer: **Wade Brookbank is a _real person_. I have never met him and I do not know him in any way personally. This story is _complete_ fiction, none of it is true and it has no relevence to actual events. I am aware that this takes place when he is in his early twenties and that none of this matches up to his real life. If you are annoyed or don't like this, don't read. I don't have time for the ranting from people that I don't know.

**This is not a Slash story.****

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Wade Brookbank - You Put the Sun to Shame. 

**The Prologue.**

The chill of the local ice rink swept over my skin and blanketed me in goosebumps.

Everything around me was black and I couldn't see a thing because the sun had yet to grace the outside sky with its presence.

I breathed in the smell of the fresh clean ice and I flipped the light switch on. The faint sound of the buzzing overhead light rung like a little annoying bee.

As I made my way through the stands and toward the rink, my feet ached to touch the ice and my hands stung with emptiness. I longed to hold my hockey stick and push a puck around. Quickly, I laced my skates up and walked to the edge of the rink. I slowly touched the ice with the tip of my skate. It sent chills through me to glide around. I loved this feeling. It was like gliding along without a care in the world, almost like flying if you get fast enough.

After all, this was the reason I moved to Lanigan to live with my Aunt Gale and Uncle Tommy. I moved to Saskatchewan, Canada to play hockey. That's what my life was. Hockey, hockey, hockey. Back home in Alabama, no one took hockey seriously, let alone actually know what hockey was. I had to move to a place where people played hockey and a place were I could get a scholarship to a college for hockey. My parents had agreed to let me use my last two years of high school in a school in Canada where hockey was their biggest sport. It just happened to turn out that my Aunt and Uncle had moved to Canada a number of years before and my Uncle Tommy was the one to introduce me to the sport of hockey. He had me watching every NHL game religiously.

"Need a practice partner?" A voice asked, scaring me half to death and pulling me abruptly out of my thoughts. My eyes snapped up and met the light blue ones of Wade Brookbank.

I took a moment to study his appearance. He stood there in a pair of black sweat pants, red sweat shirt, and his hair was cropped short for upcoming hockey season. His sharp skates slid through the ice as he skated over to me, an expectant look on his face.

Wade went to my high school and was the kind of guy that was most definitely going to make it in either the AHL or NHL. He was the _It_ guy of the school, the same old cliché '_Every guy wanted to be him, and every girl wanted to be with him_.' Of course, I didn't blame any girl that wanted him. I'll admit, he was pretty, well, cute.

At first, I was alarmed that someone else was here at 4:30 AM, but I then I realized he must have been here to get more practice time as well.

"No. I think I'm okay without one," I croaked timidly. I knew that with my luck, I'd embarrass myself if I had agreed. Something like falling on my backside or tumbling straight onto my face was bound to have happened if I had accepted. He nodded and turned away to practice by himself. I let out a breath now that he had his back toward me and I let my muscles relax again as I got myself into the Zone of practicing.

I resumed to my practicing. Shooting at the net, skating in serpentines, hockey stops, and ice flying up in my face. I sprinted on my skates back and forth to try to loosen my legs up a little more.

Apparently, twenty minutes later, I'd loosened my legs up too much. I had toppled over onto the ice from a rough patch that made my skate twist out of place.

"Owww," I groaned as I rubbed my back. Everything around me was a little disoriented until a hand was extended downward, gesturing for me to take it. I looked up, expecting him to have a smirk or at least holding a laugh in. Instead, I saw a genuine sorry expression. I took his hand gratefully and he helped me back up onto my skates.

I stared in awe for a second at his height. He was at least a foot taller than me.

When I was up and had my balance, a smile slowly tugged at his lips.

"Looks like you need pads even when you're practicing alone," he joked. Part of my personality thought that it was funny and the other registered it as being made fun of. Sadly, I didn't know which side would produce a response first.

Laughter bubbled up before I could get defensive, but it quickly ended.

"By the way, your two foot hockey stop is a bit messy," he pointed out. Suddenly, I felt that defensive side take center stage in my mind.

"Excuse me?" I asked rudely.

"Well, lock your ankles tighter. You're not stopping exactly where you should be, you go farther than you should and that's bad if you were doing a one-on-one with someone."

"So, what you're saying is that I can't do a hockey stop?" I was feeling angry that this guy was telling me what I should and shouldn't be doing.

"Kind of, but what I'm trying to do is help you out." He gave me a wink and for a moment my heart fluttered erratically, but that was quickly replaced by more anger. It felt like he was mocking me.

"Fine, you and I are having a one-on-one. We'll see who's wrong," I challenged.

"Okay," he replied arrogantly.

He skated to the blue line and I went to the center of the rink. I took a deep breath and slid forward, toward his intimidating body. A foot in front of him, I faked left but he predicted it so he went right and stole the puck right out of my possession. He was past me in a heartbeat and before I had time to react, he was at the other end, shooting the puck into the net. Wade let out a yell in victory, making my blood boil.

There was something about losing to the likely winner that made me mad. I knew that with my height of 5'2", I'd always be the underdog. This was why I was so competitive… I always liked the Seabiscuit.

"Again!" I was really mad now. He smirked and nodded, then set up again from where he started. I let out a breath and charged forward, letting my anger get the best of me. This time, I flew by him on his left side, but did a _hockey stop_. He lunged at me, thinking I'd be easy to catch. I got out quickly and went around his front side and past his right before he could make sense of what was happening. I shot the puck into the net with joy welling up inside of me.

"H-how did you do that?" He asked in disbelief. I laughed at his surprised expression but knew deep down inside that there was something hidden behind the stunned look.

_**Now for the beginning…**_

That was the first time I met Wade Brookbank. My story is not about how we fell in love, which is what you were expecting, right? You already knew that falling in love stuff was going to happen.

Wade taught me _how_ to love. He showed me how to appreciate my family, past, and heritage. When I was fifteen and ready to leave the hillbilly central, I moved to the tiny Canadian town of Lanigan to pursue a sport that was by no means _Southern_.

Later, I found that sometimes family is there for you when you least expect it and Wade made me see that, even if it was a little too late.

Five summers later was three months of love, loss, and learning. With Wade, I felt the extreme emotions of pure joy and excruciating loss, but through thick and thin, Wade was there for me.  
Wade Brookbank helped me through heartbreak and I love him **forever** for that.


	2. The Question

**-Five Years Later-**

"You look stunning," Wade said as I stepped into the living room of our Raleigh apartment. I was kind of jealous because he looked much better than I did. His shaggy chestnut hair hung a little in his ice colored eyes.  
"Thank you," I said shyly. Even after five years of being together and almost 3 years of living together, I still got light headed and flattered when he complimented me. After high school, Wade had been drafted to the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, North Carolina which is where I moved in with him. I played hockey for North Carolina State Women's Hockey team.  
"Are you ready to get going?" He asked politely, letting his eyes sparkle in the dim light of the lamp in the corner of the room.  
"Yeah."  
He wrapped a strong arm around my waist and led me out the door. "So will you please tell me why you asked me to get all dressed up tonight?" I was skeptical and the biggest thing I could think of was that the Hurricanes were going to raise his salary for next season. As if he needed _more_ money.  
"No, but I will tell you that it has to do with diving into garbage dumpsters," he joked sarcastically. I chuckled as he opened the car door for me.  
"Its not even hot here in June." I was used to hot, humid, in-your-face heat because I was from Alabama, where the summers are horrid. In Raleigh, it was nothing compared to the horrid heat from my little hometown of Burrsville, Alabama.  
"Its actually kind of nice," he opposed with a silly grin. "Well, compared to Lanigan." He was glowing with something that I couldn't catch. What was he so damn happy about? 

�

"That was an… interesting dinner," I chuckled. The waitress had obviously been a big hockey fan because she actually knew who Wade was. 

"Yeah, I'm surprised. I didn't think people would recognize me." The two of us walked along in a little park in the middle of downtown Raleigh. 

"You know, there was a little kid in the corner that looked like they knew who you were," I told him as the warm summer atmosphere doused my mind.  
"Really? I'm glad the kids at least know who I am," he said shakily. There was something wrong with him and I wasn't sure what it was. "Wade, what's wrong?"  
"Nothing is _wrong_, trust me," he breathed with wide eyes. I looked around, we were on a bridge over a little pond that glittered in the moonlight. It was really pretty and I honestly didn't know that any place in Raleigh could look like this. I remembered the little bridge over the creek back in Lanigan that Wade and I would always sit on and throw stuff down into the water, breaking up our reflections.  
My eyebrows furrowed as he dug through the pocket of his tuxedo jacket. Finally, a light bulb in my head comprehended what he was doing when he began to lower himself down onto one knee.  
"Oh, my..." I gasped. A bead of sweat slowly trilled down his face. His lips opened to submit the words that I was genuinely surprised to hear. 

"Katherine Meyer, I've known you for five years now and I knew the moment we met that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you." He took a large, deep breath. "Will you marry me?"  
Tears fell from my eyes as he looked questioningly at me. He wasn't sure if my crying was good or bad.  
"Yes! Oh, my God. I-I can't believe this," my staggered reply was. His face lit joyously as he lept up and slid the little diamond ring on my finger.  
"I love you so much, Katherine." He bent his head down to kiss me. I couldn't put my finger on exactly how _I_ had possibly been so lucky to have Wade. Thoughts racked through my brain of how I loved him. I thought about going to his games with the Hurricanes and watching him play the game that him I and loved so much. But I always remembered thinking that there was certainly one thing that I loved more than hockey and that was him. I loved the way he looked at me when I smiled, the way I could say anything and he would understand, even if he didn't agree. Most of all, I loved the way I just fit into his arms like Cinderella and her glass slipper. Wade was the glass slipper that was too good for the little maiden, which was me. I couldn't even _begin_ to explain the extent of my love, if I was being honest. 

"Lock those ankles!" Wade yelled from the other end of the empty practice rink in the RecZone, the building that the Hurricanes had their practices in. After he proposed, the two of us thought that it was more than appropriate to go skating, considering it was our lives. I still had stars in my eyes and little birds flying around my head like a cartoon character. I probably looked like one, too.  
I laughed and remembered the first time we met in that old ice rink in Lanigan. I had been so mad at his know-it-all attitude, but we worked that out, obviously.  
"You're getting lazy with your ankles," a whisper came from behind me. His arms settled themselves around my body and he buried his head into the side of my neck.  
"Oh, yeah?" I asked with a laugh.  
"Yeah. One little push," he began. I felt a tap on my back and my knees buckled under me, causing me to fall. "And you're down," he finished with a loud chuckle. Wade skated around me to offer a hand.  
"Hmph." I crossed my arms and legs, being careful not to hurt myself with the blades of my skates. I felt like a little girl in the restaurant that was having a temper tantrum as I sat with my freezing cold backside on the ice, pouting. Wade sighed and lowered himself down to the ice next to me. His arm snaked around my shoulder and he pulled me close to him.  
"I'm sorry, Katherine. I couldn't resist. You were just in desperate need of a pushing," he apologized with a sincere tone.  
"Ugh! You're Canadian! You're not supposed to be all sweet and emotional and… and well, have a personality," I groaned, trying to stay mock-mad at him. I wriggled away but he grabbed me again before I could get up.  
"Ugh! You're Southern! You're not supposed to even know what hockey is," he imitated me, dazzling me with his pearly white teeth. I grinned, knowing that I couldn't keep up the charade any longer. He winked and bent his head down to kiss me. The taste of his lips were so inviting. I couldn't help but remember the first time we kissed.

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_"How did an American girl like you get stuck in Lanigan, Saskatchewan ?" Wade asked. He pulled his car into my Aunt Gale and Uncle Tommy's house, proud that he was sixteen and had a driver's licence.  
"Hockey." My short, simple response was. Obviously, he hadn't believed me all the times we practiced together in the early hours of the morning.  
"You're really serious about hockey, aren't you?"  
"Yes. Why would I move to Canada otherwise?" He shrugged and opened his car door, then made his way around to open mine.  
"Good point. Canada is cold and not much fun. Honestly, though, I thought that maybe there could have been a story behind it, like running away from your drunken parents, or something like that," he said sarcastically, with that signature wink.  
"Please, Wade, my life isn't that interesting. That's novel material," I scoffed. He chuckled and led me up to the door. He averted his eyes downward, blushing. I smiled at his shyness - as if _he_ needed to be shy.  
__"Goodnight. Thanks for taking me to the movies. I had a great time although the movie was scary," I thanked him, biting my lip. He looked up at me with his big blue eyes that told so much without him having to open his mouth. _

"_I… uhh, c-can I k-kiss you?" His cheeks were red with embarrassment. I laughed at his nervousness but definitely appreciated the fact that he was being a gentlemen about it. _

"_Yes. You can most certainly kiss me."_

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"Christ! Brooksy, that's what bedrooms are for." A voice echoed in the open, empty rink. The two of us were startled by the sudden noise. Wade got up off me and was immediately on his skates, looking at the people who interupted us. 

Ray Whitney, Matt Cullen, and Trevor Letowski entered the RecZone with big, cheesy grins on their faces.


	3. The Secret's Out

Chapter 2. Here's to everyone who has read my story. :D

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**You Put the Sun to Shame - Wade Brookbank**

"So, Katherine, has he asked you yet?" Ray asked. The three men that just entered the building held expectant faces, which was something you'd normally see on their wives rather than them.

"Asked me what?" I teased with a grin. Ray, Matt, and Trevor all laughed and looked to my hand to find the answer that they knew wouldn't come out of my mouth. I swear, if they weren't on skates, they would be jumping up and down with excitement. Even Matt "Cully" Cullen, the quiet one, was ecstatic.

"_Finally_," Trevor began, rolling his eyes, "when Lavi put us on the same line, I had to listen to his little plan during games when it wasn't our shift." He was referring to the coach, Peter Laviolette, whom they called "Lavi."

I turned to Wade who gave Trevor a death look. "I was not!"

"But Big Mouth Letowski here had to tell the rest of the team," Ray interjected before Trevor could spit a profanity. "When Brooksy left the locker room after practice a few weeks ago, Trevor went and told everyone."

"Yeah, he did. Then he told Amy and she told all the wives and girlfriends," Cully said with a guilty smile as Trevor glared at him.

I wasn't surprised that _everyone_ knew before I did. It was almost expected when it came to this bunch of guys that liked to gossip more than their other halves. "So, what you're saying is that pretty much everyone knew and I was still shocked when the question was coming out of his mouth? How did this not get leaked to me when almost 40 people knew?"

All four guys shrugged. Typical males, not knowing anything.

"By the way, Bridjet, Amy, and Gee are outside, waiting for you to go tell them all the details," Ray piped up. Bridjet was Ray's wife, Amy was Trevor's, and Bridget or as everyone called her, "Gee," was Matt's wife. They were my best friends out of all the girls. I'll admit, they treated me as if I was a woman, not just some college student who was just a_ girlfriend. _

I acknowledged Ray's statement and told Wade I'd be outside with them. Quickly, I skated to the edge of the rink and made it outside to see all three of the pretty women sitting nervously on the bench. Just one glance, and you could tell they were hockey player wives with their perfect hair, manicured nails, and expensive clothes. And yet, I loved these three as if they were my sisters. I still didn't want to become that, though.

All three pairs of eyes jumped up at the sound of the door opening. The brown ones of Bridjet's were worried, being the paranoid pessimist that she was. Amy's blue danced with anticipation and Gee's green were positive of the outcome. Gee was always certain, even if she was wrong. They knew I didn't need words to know what they would ask.

"You're looking at Miss Soon-to-be-Brookbank." I smiled, lifting my hand to show them the ring. Unanimously, they jumped up, and bombarded me with questions.

"_What did he say_?"  
"_How did you act_?"  
"_Where did he take you_?"  
"_How much do you think that cost_?"  
"_I told you so_."

There were so many questions that it all sounded like the high school cafeteria back in Lanigan. Oh, no. Not more memories.

I raised my hand and they all stopped abruptly. All three of them shook, trying to keep the questions inside. "One at a time. I can't here you all."

They all grinned like idiots and I quickly took back even thinking that their husbands were more gossipy than them.

I answered their questions outside of the RecZone on the early June night. Good Lord, they had a lot of questions. The breeze ruffled my pale blonde hair as the guys made their way out of the building. Bridjet, Amy, and Gee took no notice to this, and apparently, Ray, Trevor, and Cully, didn't care about the fact that their wives were still asking me questions. I noticed, though. I looked straight into those eyes that I knew would be mine and I could tell that they were searching for mine.

When the three girls realized I wasn't paying attention to them, they immediately stopped talking and looked at Wade.

"How sweet." Gee smirked. The other girls snickered.

"So, Katherine. Were you and Wade planning on going anywhere this summer?" Amy asked, getting up and walking over to Trevor.

I looked up at Wade who opened his mouth to reply. "Actually, I was hoping we'd go down to Alabama so I can meet her parents. She hasn't been there in 5 years."

My heart stopped beating for a few seconds at the mention of Alabama. No, I must have not heard him correctly. He didn't really mean that he wanted to go to Alabama did he?

"You mean, you haven't met her parents yet?" Ray asked, holding in a laugh.

"Nope." Wade looked at me for back-up but I was too deep in thought.

"Do you want to go to Alabama?" Bridjet looked concerned.

"Yeah, yeah," I said, trying to keep any controversy out.

"Well, we should get going," Cully said. I silently thanked him for feeling the tension and stopping anything from coming about. Gee stood and walked to Cully.

"We'll see you guys later. Congratulations! I'm so happy for both of you," Bridjet told Wade and I as I stood next to him.

We were bid goodbye's and soon we were alone again, in the parking lot of the RecZone.

"You really want to go to Alabama?" I asked Wade, confused at how this idea could possibly enter his brain.

"Why wouldn't I? I have never met your parents and we'll only go for a week if you don't want to stay long." His smile calmed my nerves and the thought actually made sense for the first time.

"Ehh, let's talk about it later. I just want to go home and go to bed. It's been such a long night." Wade nodded and the two of us went back to our apartment and went straight to bed. I didn't realize how exhausted I was until I hit the bed and immediately reached unconsciousness.

* * *

"Wake up, you grouch," a soft voice called to me accompanied by the smell of coffee. I inhaled the coffee and felt the caffine go straight to my head even without actually drinking it. Slowly, I crawled out of the bed and stumbled into the kitchen, feeling like a bear that had just awaken from hibernation.

As soon as I entered the kitchen, the coffee was place right under my nose and into my hands. "Mmm," I mumbled, sipping it up and finally waking up for real.

"Yep, I thought you'd like it." A chuckle came out of my now fiance as he took my arm and helped me over to the kitchen table - luckily he knew that I was _not_ a morning person.

"Yeahhh." I dragged out the 'Yeah', not really knowing what was coming out of my mouth. I briefly saw Wade shake his head, still laughing at me.

"So, about Alabama," Wade began. "Do you think we could go for a week to meet your parents?"

Suddenly, I was awake. Every millimeter of my body was alive and alert at the mentioning of Alabama. "Do we have to?" I whined.

"Oh, come on, Katherine. You can't hate your hometown that much to not even let me talk about it," Wade sighed.

"Yes. I do."

"No, you can't. Let's just go for a week! That's it! I just need to meet your parents before I, you know, take your hand in marriage and get stuck to you for life."

"Why do you need to meet them?" I argued hopelessly. I'd already lost but I was a ruthless believer and hoped that I could somehow pull it off.

"Why are you trying to hide them?" He counter-argued. He knew how to get me... answer with a question.

"I'm not! They're just... crazy and a bit scary at times."

"Katherine! Ugh! I need to know the people who _created _you for God's Sake."

I gulped. That was it. It was won, and he could tell from the look on my face that he had won it. I sluggishly pulled myself out of the chair and trudged to the phone.

"Are you sure?" I squeaked, being that hopeful underdog again. Wade nodded and smirked as I punched in the digits on the phone.

_Ring...Ring...Ring..._

"Heh-lo?" A Southern accent asked through the phone lines. It was Mom.

"Hey, Mom, it's Katherine." I rolled my eyes at the glowing Wade, who sat triumphantly at the table.

"**_Kathy!_**"

I cringed at the nickname that was given to me so many years ago. "Yeah, Mom, it's me."


	4. Making Plans

English Paper or Wade Brookbank story? Brooksy, of course! :D  
Wow, I really should be working on my Research Paper, though.

Hurricanes won last night.  
Brookbank got into 3 fights. One wasn't exactly counted as a fight, so he didn't get kicked out of the game. The ref called a "Roughing" Penalty. As much as I disliked those refs, I was glad he didn't kick Brooksy out. :D  
Pretty Bloody game, though. 38 total penalties. 5 people in the Atlanta box at the same time... 3 in ours (Brookbank one of them). You know the "Too Many Players on Ice" call? Well, apparently, the people who work the big TV screen put, "Atlanta - Too Many Players in Penalty Box." Yeah, we had fun laughing at that one.  
Oh, yeah, and we won 7-1. We scored in the first 43 seconds of the game. Can you say, Atlanta sucks? Sorry to the fans out there, but you know, without Hossa, you're nothing. xD  
I do love Recchi, though.

Anyway, excuse my arrogant little speech. On to what you came for;;

* * *

**You Put the Sun to Shame - Wade Brookbank**

"So why you callin', sweetie?" Mom asked through the phone. It did hurt me that she knew I wasn't just calling to say hello.

I sighed and began speaking about the plans that I did not want to make at all. "Well, Wade and I wanted to come down and visit for about a week if that's okay with you and Dad."

The other end of the phone line was silent for a moment. "My goodness, of course you can, baby! You know we've been wantin' to meet that Wade of your's. He sounds like a real nice fella. When do you think y'all will be down?"

I mouthed the question to Wade and he shrugged. Once again, I rolled my eyes at him for making such a big deal about this and then not even knowing when he wanted to go down.

"Actually, Wade's hockey team is having a End-of-Season celebration tomorrow night to kind of say goodbye before everyone goes back to their off-season homes."

"Oh, that's right, I forgot he was a hockey player like you. I shoulda guessed that," she said with a little chuckle. I honestly didn't know what was funny about that.

"I was thinking we'd take a plane down on June 21st? It's a Monday two weeks away."

"Sure, that sounds like a plan. Y'know, Dusty and Billy are gonna be real 'cited to see ya. You're comin' just in time, too. The Alabama State Fair's gonna be up in Birmin'ham that week that y'all are down."

I was happy to hear about the State Fair. How could I forget? That was definitely my favorite part of the year when the big rides, the fattening, greasy food, and the famous rodeo was in the capital of Birmingham. "Wow, that's great."

"Mhmm, it sure is, sugar. I best get goin' your Daddy's gonna want to hear this, and he's gonna want his breakfast, too. I'll see you then, Kathy. I'm real happy to hear that we get to meet that boyfriend of your's."

Now was the time that I should have mentioned that Wade and I were going to get married but for some reason I bit my tongue. For some reason the words just wouldn't come out at all. The only thing that I could say was, "Me, too. Bye, Mom."

I hung up the phone with that bad feeling in my stomach. I couldn't believe I was going to _Alabama_.

"Why didn't you tell her we are getting married?" Wade asked, standing up and walking over to the coffee pot to pour more in my cup.

"I'm not sure. Something told me to hold it in until we get there. I don't know what it was, but I just think that I should tell her in person after pretty much ignoring my family for five years." Wade nodded in understanding - thank God for that.

"Okay, I get it. It's fine, I would be the same way. I did call my parents this morning and they were ecstatic." He was about to hand me the cup of coffee, but instead set it down on the counter and gave me a hug instead. "I know you don't want to go, Katherine, but this is your family and they really want to see you. I'm not trying to force anything but think about if you had a child and they go off to live in another country at 16 and you don't see them again until they're 21. How would you feel about that?"

I took his words in my head and let them take a tumble in my brain. Somehow, this trip didn't seem as dreadful as I thought it would be now. I was actually excited about visiting my little brothers and the animals that I left behind. Then again, I could only pin-point one ice rink that was about 45 minutes away from my house.

"I guess you're... right," I told him reluctantly. Even though I now believed what he said, I didn't want him to get big-headed. Wade had a history of arrogance when you told him he was right.

"I'm what?" A smirk started to form on his face and soon all seriousness was gone from his face.

"You're..." I mumbled the word 'right' inconherently.

"What?"

"You're right! Damn you! You're right!" I burst out angrily. His smile never faultered, he just stood in front of me with a cheesy smile. I wanted to slap it off, but I resisted.

"I know."

"You are so full of it," I snarled. Before I sould say anything else, I decided to just walk away. As I turned to leave, Wade quickly wrapped his arms around me and pulled me back to him. I wriggled in his arms, trying to get away.

"And _you_ get the most random mood swings," he whispered, obviously trying to sound sexy. Which he did, but I wouldn't let him know. I thought it would be best just to be quiet and not say anything.

I felt those lips touch my neck and I, once again, attempted at silence.

"You want to talk, you want to talk," he sang under his breath, giving me another kiss on the neck.

Oddly, the atmosphere seemed to change. I felt Wade wave it off and I knew that when he opened his mouth, he'd bring up a new subject.

"So, about the party tomorrow night," he began. "I think you should wear that dress that you like so much."

I gave up, it was impossible to be mean. "You mean that black one that Amy and I bought last weekend?"

Wade sighed, apparently relieved that I was talking to him again. "Yes, that one."

A thought entered my mind and I turned to him to ask him a question. "Why do you put up with me?"

"What do you mean?" He was surprised at my question.

"Why do you love me when I'm such a bitch to you all the time? I mean, I just realized how mean I am to you."

He seemed to ponder this for a moment. "Well, it's because," he finally said, pausing for a moment, "I love how you're this tiny little thing that gets so worked up by everything. I love it when you rant, I never find it insulting because I know you so well by now that I know you honestly don't mean it."

My heart skipped a beat. "Really?"

Wade laughed and nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, I mean it."

"Well, if it isn't the newly, umm, engaged," was the first statement that entered our ears as we entered Ray Whitney's house for the big Farewell party. Chad LaRose had said the comment. The news of our engagement had spread like wildfire throughout the team. I knew this because the only people I told were Bridjet, Amy, and Gee.

All the people who were there so far waved at us. "Hey Rosey," Wade laughed as the little 5'9" guy approached the two of us.

"Congrats guys, Cristina heard from Amy last night and burst into the apartment screaming, 'Katherine and Wade are engaged!' I mean, are you guys that popular?" Chad began his usual never-ending chatter. I held my laugh in at his hysterical mannerisms. Chad was the guy on the team that never stopped being funny, he could keep you laughing all day.

"Thank you," I told him, watching Cristina walk up to him with a dazzling grin on her face.

"Oh, my gosh! I'm so happy for you guys," she squealed, hugging Wade and I. Soon, Cam and Cody Ward, Tuomo Ruutu, Tim Gleason and their dates, and Eric and Tanya Staal were talking to us about our summer plans.

What seemed like an hour later, every player with their wives, girlfriends, etc, was there in the Whitney house, talking as if they were never going to see each other again.

"Excuse me, everyone," a voice interupted the chatting. Chad and Ray were standing next to each other with smirks plastered on their faces. When both pairs of eyes wandered to Wade and I, my heart dropped in fear of what immature thing they'd make us do.

"Oh, no," Wade muttered, evidently feeling the same pain.

"As many of you all know, there are two people here that are to be married. Miss Kathy-rin and Brooksy," Chad's smile widened, as did Ray's. "If you two could come join us for a second."

Wade and I slowly made our way as every person watched us with cheeky smiles. Once we were standing next to Chad and Ray, I knew for sure that we were in trouble.


	5. Thunder Road

I'm on a roll. OMGZ, gotta love Brookbank. xD

_I'll be good and add the **disclaimer** this chapter_: I am not Wade Brookbank. I don't know him personally, either. This is not based off of real events. If this sounds related to any real events, it is purely coincidental. Most characters are _real_ people (even wives, girlfriends, etc.). Katherine, her family, and others in Alabama are purely fiction, however. I am aware that Wade Brookbank is married - to Betsy Brookbank to be exact, and this has no relevence to their lives.

By the way, this one is a little bit shorter than the others but its short, simple, and sweet. :D

* * *

**You Put the Sun to Shame - Wade Brookbank**

Those stupid grins scared me. Chad and Ray looked like evil masterminds standing in front of everyone and calling us up.

"What are they going to make us do?" I whispered to Wade, wide eyed. He shrugged and went to stand next to the two guys with me following close behind.

"So, Brooksy and Katherine, since we found out ahead of time that you two were going to be engaged." Trevor recieved a glare for that one. "The team decided that we'd make you two have your first dance as an engaged couple. How does that sound?"

Of course I'd have to do the one thing I was horrible at - dancing. "I can't dance, though."

"Brooksy's an amazing dancer, he'll teach you," Ray joked. Wade shook his head and his cheeks reddened.

"How can you say that Wade... the 'Enforcer,' is a good dancer? Who do you think he is? Patrick Swayze?" I argued, getting a laugh from everyone in the room.

"Oh, come on. You've seen him dancing on the ice with all the other tough guys, right?" Cam Ward said.

"That's not dancing," Wade replied, rolling his eyes.

"Well, damn, Brooksy, you think that's fighting? Pansy boy Staal could fight better than you," Hedican called from the back of the room.

It was clear that we were not going to get out of doing this. The two of us nearly disagreed but Ray convinced us. Chad bounced to the stereo system with his usual upbeat expression.

Quietly, the harmonica from the song began and I instantly recognized the song as, "Thunder Road" by Bruce Springsteen. Hedican probably picked the song because we all knew how much of a Bruce fan he was.

The piano started to pick up into a soft little melody with the harmonica and soon Bruce Springsteen's voice echoed throughout the silent room. His low, almost raspy voice contrasted with the music-box-sounding melody.

_"The screen door slams  
Mary's dress sways  
Like a vision she dances across the porch  
As the radio plays"_

Embarressment flooded my mind as the two of us started to dance. Every pair of eyes was on the two of us and I couldn't dance decently if it was to save my life.

_"Roy Orbison singing for the lonely  
Hey, that's me and I want you only  
Don't turn me home again  
I just can't face myself alone again"_

As soon as the embarressment came, it was gone. It seemed now that we were the only ones in the room and no one was there laughing at us.

_"Don't run back inside  
Darling you know just what I'm here for  
So you're scared and you're thinking  
That maybe we just ain't that young anymore"_

Although I was trying to block everything out, I could hear the Ooh's and Ahh's. "Come on, Trevor, don't make them embaressed by being the only ones dancing. Let's dance!" I heard Amy's caring voice urge Trevor.

_"Show a little faith, there's magic in the night  
You ain't a beauty  
But, hey, you're alright  
And that's alright with me." _

Soon, everyone else joined them and I was certainly grateful about that. The song started to pick up and the drums and guitars came in, picking up tempo. I didn't bother to look around at all the funny hockey players dancing, all I could see was his blue eyes. Those blue eyes that made me willing to actually sway to the beat of the song.

_"You can hide neath your covers  
And study your pain  
Make crosses from your lovers  
Throw roses in the rain  
Waste your summer praying in vain  
For a savior to rise from these streets  
Well now Im no hero  
Thats understood  
All the redemption I can offer, girl  
Is beneath this dirty hood  
With a chance to make it good somehow  
Hey what else can we do now?" _

The song started up in the chorus and everyone danced all the way through. "Thunder Road" ended with my heart racing. Who knew that just dancing could do that to you?

"Well, nobody puts baby in the corner, eh?" Chad piped up. I laughed at his stupid humor, as did the others.

"See, Katherine. We told you that Wade was a good dancer," Staal said, glaring at Hedican who had previously called him a pansy.

"Yeah, he's a great dancer."

"Anyone want to dance to 'Heaven' by Bryan Adams?" Chad announced, hopeful that people would say yes. I looked around the room at the wide eyes.

"No!" Mostly everyone in the room yelled. I silently thanked God for that. I don't think that I could possibly go through another song.

Softly, I felt a tap on my hand from Wade. While averting my eyes to him, he motioned toward the door to the back deck. Both of us excused ourselves and breathed in the outside air as we walked onto the deck.

Wade shut the door queitly behind him and joined me by the railing. The moon was still as full and beautiful as it was when he had proposed a few nights before. We leaned against the ledge and it was silent except for the chirping of crickets on the early summer night.

I sighed, letting the recent changes in my life sink in. I took Wade's large, cut and bruised hand in mine. It was rough from all the punches he threw at other hockey players. Despite the coarseness of his hand, it was warm. From my five years of knowing him, I'd always been aware of how warm his hands were. They felt so comforting just to hold.

A piece of my blonde hair was shaken loose from the slight breeze. Quickly, Wade tucked it behind my ear before I could.

"It got in the way of your face," he whispered. "We can't have that now, can we?"

I gulped and shook my head. "Nope. Tha..."

He placed his finger over my lips and slowly bent down to kiss them. His fingers brushed the side of my jaw and lightly held it up as he increased pressure on my lips with his.

Everything disappeared again, except this time I forgot my name, where I was from and what problems I seemed to have. All I could think about was those lips that were pressed against mine. It was one of those simple kisses that stopped the world from turning and always sounded cliche when you described them, but so powerful when it was happening to you.

My knees started to buckle under but he quickly caught me and held me up. He pulled away and softly chuckled under his breath.

"You... are just... so..." he was trying to catch his breath.

"Foolish?" I asked.

"No," he whispered while pushing another strand of hair out of my face. "I think amazing is more like it."

I didn't know how to take all the complements from him, the only response I could possibly make was to blush madly.

"When are you going to deal with my complements?" He asked, knowing exactly what I was thinking somehow. I finally looked up into his crystal blue eyes that took my breath away.

"Never."


	6. Back Home

I'm so sorry it took so long to update. I had so much shizz to work on for school and stuff and this weekend will be just as hectic as last. I had to go to a _wedding_ last weekend and had to help the bride and the bridesmaids get ready and everything. It gave me ideas for this story, though. xD That's always good, right?

Well, here's Chapter Five!

**Disclaimer:**Wade Brookbank is a real person. I am not him nor do I know him personally. The characters other than Wade in this chapter are not real but are completely my imagination. There is also no such place as Burrsville, Alabama. There is a Burrsville, Maryland... but no Alabama. Burrsville is also _my imagination_.

* * *

The period of time in between when I first made the plans and when the plans actually went into action was too short. The plane ride to the Birmingham Airport took no time at all.

The day before we'd left, I'd talked to Amy, Gee, and Bridjet about the next week coming up. They all agreed that it was good that I was seeing my family, even if they couldn't convince me.

I had tried on a number of occasions to think about the positives of this trip, but honestly couldn't.

"Oh, you are so dramatic," Wade teased as we stepped off the plane and into the airport. A sick feeling planted itself in my stomach at the thought of being home. It was all too much.

I was pretty sure that Wade realized that I wasn't kidding when he started to actually comfort me on the bus ride to the tiny town in the south of Alabama. I watched as civilization slowly faded away as the bus went on and on. The buildings turned into fields of crops and livestock. Large pieces of land with big houses way back seemed to be all that remained in the deep south.

Then, I saw it.

**Welcome to Burrsville, Alabama  
Population: 892**

Obviously, no one had died or been born because the sign still held the same number that it had five years before. I guessed it was 891 since I moved a while ago.

The bus pulled into the station and my stomach was doing flips better than a gymnast. Wade softly rubbed my back, probably feeling me shake with nerves. We stood, got our baggage, and stepped off the bus, being welcomed by that infamous heat. How ironic that this place was called _Burr_sville.

There was a surprisingly larger than expected crowd at the bus station waiting to get on and off the bus. I looked around for my parents, not in anticipation but in hope that I was just sleeping and I wasn't really here.

"Kathy!" A woman wailed out from behind me.

"Christ, she found us," I mumbled to a smiling Wade. I turned around to see my mother, who had aged a lot, and my father right behind her with a grumpy expression. Oh, how worse that look would get when he found out that he would have a new soon-to-be son-in-law.

I was immediately attacked by her flailing arms and her slobbering kisses that coated my cheeks.

"Oh, baby! I'm so glad you're home!" She grinned wildly. Her eyes widened when they came across Wade. Yes, the _now_ nervous looking Wade. "Well, ain't you a handsome fella."

"Martha, the boy ain't a dog, stop talkin' to him like he's one," Dad said, spiting himself. He really didn't want to stick up for Wade.

"Well, Fred, what do you 'spect? We never get any a'them nice lookin' fellas down here so I might as well be talkin' to this one like that."

How I missed those accents. That statement definitely deserved a _not_ after it.

I glanced at Wade who looked as if he could handle anything now. I silently cursed him for being so confindent.

Mom looked me up and down but stopped at my middle. "What's that?" she asked excitedly. Her hand grabbed mine and held it up to the sunlight to let my engagement ring glitter. I looked at Wade again, who was back to his nervous look.

"Well, umm, Mom... I'm engaged to Wade." There was an eerie silence that followed. Save the bustle of the crowd around us.

"Congrats, sweetheart! I'm proud of you. You definitely picked a looker." Just like Mom to try to make awkward situations... less awkward.

"Thanks, Mom," I replied dully, instantly knowing that this whole trip was a bad idea. I could see that Dad was stunned.

"Well, let's get goin'. Dusty and Billy have been waitin' for ya'll since last week," Mom blurted before Dad could object to this new information.

The car ride was silent until Dad decided to open his mouth. God forbid that man let any words be released from him. My dad was always known for his bluntness. "So Wade, what's your job?"

"I'm a hockey player in the NHL, sir." Both of my parents looked a little surprised at that one.

"The NHL is the big league, right?"

"I guess you could say that. The more well-known players are in the NHL but that doesn't mean they're the best."

"So, you two have stuck together 'cause y'all both like hockey?" Dad spat, assuming that the only reason we'd been together for five years was because we both love hockey. I was so tempted to say, 'No, it's because we both love having hot sex,' but my mom beat me to the punch.

"Fred! It's called _love. _Y'ever heard of it?" Mom objected to Dad, thankfully just as we pulled into the driveway.

My little brothers, which I found weren't _little_ any more, ran out of the house with the biggest smile's I'd ever seen them wear. Dusty, who was now 18, had grown his 'Dusty' blonde hair out into a shaggy mop. The poor thing probably had girls all over him.

Billy, the now 16 year old, had dark brown hair and was only fractions of an inch shorter than Wade. It was scary that the last time I'd seen him was when he was 11 years old.

"Kathy!" the two of them exclaimed, bombarding me with hugs. After the initial greeting was over, they stared at Wade uneasily.

"You must be Wade," Billy assumed, in a deep voice that I wasn't familiar with.

"Yeah, I'm Wade," he replied, shaking both of their hands. They seemed to ease up around him.

"We got somethin' to show ya, Kathy," Dusty said excitedly, walking toward the big red barn.

The soft nickers the horses made were like music to my ears. I immediately walked to my horse's stall. Her name was Sleepy and I'd forgetten how much I missed her. She stood facing the stall wall with her backside facing me. Wade joined me at the stall door and let a beautiful smile grace his lips.

"Sleeps," I cooed at the small mare. Her ears turned toward me, intently listening. She shuffled around in her stall and when I caught sight of her eyes, she perked up. Her little ears pricked forward as she quickly made her way to the door. I opened her stall door and rushed in, throwing my arms around her fuzzy, chocolate brown neck. Sleepy enthusiastically tossed her head around, seeming mutually excited to see me.

"Kathy! We've got something to show ya!" Billy was persistant, pulling me out of the stall and down to the very last stall. When all four of us saw the creature that majestically stood there staring me down, obviously searching for any sign of familiarness.

"Ma and Pop got him back last week when they found out you were comin' down."

The horse's eyes were a honey color that had so much depth. Cheesy enough, it honestly felt like I could see his soul.

This ebony colored horse was by far the biggest thing I had missed from Alabama. I had no idea how my parents got him back.

He was the horse that almost brought me to fame and a professional career in horseback riding. And the sad thing was, I didn't want to see him. It brought too many memories back just to look through the horses eyes and know that deep down inside, he remembered the past that I tried so hard to forget.


	7. That Horse Shouldn't Be Here

Sorry it took _forever. _I promise I was writing it, it was just taking a little while to get as much as I wanted to into this chapter. I'm totally getting into this story, though. It's like I'm finally picking it up and running with it... which is a pretty good thing considering I'm not one that's known to get through a whole story. xD

Well, as usual, enjoy.

* * *

I held back some salty tears that threatened to fall and turned around sharply, striding out of the barn with Wade close behind. His hands grabbed my shoulders and spun me to face him.

"What's wrong?" He asked under his breath in a concerned tone. His blue eyes held sincere worry that surprised me. He really did love me, didn't he?

"That horse shouldn't be here." My statement was through gritted teeth. I tried so hard to believe that biting down my teeth would stop the tears. "Great, I'm here for an hour and I'm already crying."

"Katherine," Wade whispered, hugging me and comforting me for what seemed like the hundredth time since we'd been engaged. "The horse is just a horse and whatever happened a long time ago happened a long time ago. Let's go help your parents take the bags in."

A single nod did the trick and like magic, Wade wiped the lone tear from my cheek and softly pressed his lips where the tear once existed.

My mother's facial expression showed that she was on Cloud Nine and my father looked like Grumpy from Snow White. His face was sour and he sat on the porch, eyeing Wade as we came around from the back of the barn. The bags were not as heavy as they were in the airport, for some odd Twilight Zone reason. Inside the house, everything was in the same exact place since I'd left. The side door led into the little, quaint kitchen that still contained the old appliances from the day that my parents had bought this house 30 years before.

The long, narrow hallway was still coated in the yellow paint and still had the same oak boards planted into the floor. There were the cute baby pictures of the three kids that needed to be taken down.

Blush creeped onto my face when Wade pointed to my first grade picture. Wild, blond hair framed my pale, innocent face. My two front teeth were missing and I could appropriately call myself a redneck in that picture.

At the end of the hallway, my room still contained everything that a normal 16 year old girl would have in her room. It was just the same way I had left it.

"Here we are, baby. I'm glad we didn't move anything 'round cause you'da probably get angry," Mom announced, setting some of my little bags on the carpet of my room.

"Nope, I don't think I would have been mad, Mom." She kept her smile plastered on her face and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Wade's face was aglow as he looked around my room. "This is you and that first horse we saw?" He asked while picking up a picture frame.

I walked to him to take a look at what, exactly, he was holding. "Yeah, that's when I was about 14 and my parents took me to the All American Quarter Horse Congress with Sleepy."

I received the response that I expected; blank. Most people that didn't know anything about horse showing gave me this look that I witnessed from Wade now.

"The what?"

"Oh, man. You may want to take a seat for the explaining of what exactly 'Congress' is." I put a hand on his shoulder and lowered him so he was sitting on my bed.

I always loved when I was standing in front of him while he was sitting. It made me feel taller than him and he always had a glimmer in his eye when he looked upward at me.

"Story time, eh?" I nodded and sat beside him on the bed.

"So, pretty much the All American Quarter Horse Congress is the National Championship of horse showing when it comes to Quarter Horses, which is what Sleepy is." He seemed surprised at this new information that I had never shared. In a way, I felt bad that Wade didn't know this part of me that everyone in Burrsville knew me as. For five years, I didn't want Wade to know what I was trying to forget about myself.

"National Championship? So, why did you quit to move to Canada and play a stupid sport like hockey?" Wade asked in disbelief. That's the reply I expected.

I sighed and shook my head. "It's a long, complicated story for that. But Sleepy and I did everything, we'd travel all around the East Coast and even some of the Midwest for horse shows."

"That's... so cool. Why didn't you tell me any of this?" He looked a little bit hurt but had that slight compassion in his eyes that I had grown so accustomed to.

"I didn't want to think about it."

"I understand." Even though he didn't, he still made me feel like he absolutely did. He certainly was a magical human being for putting up with me.

Gently, I took his face in my hands and pressed my lips on his cheek. "I'm glad you do. It makes me feel a lot better."

The two of us got up and left my room with our bags laying on the white carpet lifelessly. Dusty and Billy were waiting in the living room on the sofa that was pushed against the wall. Their faces lit up when they saw us enter the living room.

Soon, everyone was in the living room, sitting down somewhere. It was an awkward moment until Billy, who was so grown up that it was scary, had said something. "Dusty has a girlfriend," he blurted quickly, getting a hit on the arm from Dusty.

Dusty, my 18 year old brother, was blushing madly underneath his dirty blond mop. I couldn't help but smile at my two little brothers that had grown up so much. Dusty was only 13 when I left and he certainly did not have a girlfriend then.

Suddenly, I remembered the feeling that I got when I was in high school back in Saskatchewan. It was that almost high feeling when I found out that the most popular guy in school not only didn't have a girlfriend, but wanted me to be his girlfriend.

Wade had been the guy. That guy that would walk down the hallway on game days and everyone would stare with pleading eyes for him to notice them. Of course, he wasn't your typical jock that blew everyone off, he would say hello to the drama geek who he had once been friends with when they played Romeo and Juliet together in their middle school play. He waved to the chess nerd who he had done community service with the week before. He always greeted the hockey team's water boy whenever he was in a 20 foot radius of him. And he always acknowledged that little American girl that practiced hockey with him at 4:00 every morning. He was always charming to her, but never in an arrogant way, just through a subtle, distant smile.

I always remembered feeling my heart speed up when he looked at me in the halls of the school with a secretive smile as though we were the only ones who mattered in that hallway full of hundreds of kids.

Thinking about Dusty's "girlfriend," I realized that she must be in the same boat as I was. Obviously, Dusty was the Wade of his school, he had been when he was 13 and I'm sure he still was.

"What's her name?" I asked excitedly, making Dusty blush again.

"Her name's Sarah and she's just a delightful girl. Y'know, when you an' Wade take Dusty and Billy on up to Birmin'ham for the fair tomorrah or Wednesday, y'all should take Sarah with you. She really is a joy to be 'round."

I didn't know why, but for some reason I really wanted to meet this Sarah girl. Maybe she would be a nice girl and the infamous Katherine Meyer and her hockey player fiance would approve of her for Dusty.


	8. A Questionable Dinner

Chapter Seven! I'm **so **sorry it took so long but it turns out that I'm on a three week break from school at the moment, so I will update a lot more for the next three weeks. :D Thanks for the reviews, I really appreciate them. Also, I have a link to a youtube video of the song that was in a previous chapter called _Thunder Road_ by Bruce Springsteen. I just recently got a DVD with this old video of him playing this song at least 30 years ago.  
Copy and paste this URL into your address bar: www . youtube . com /watch?v -put an equal sign here- PYPSZiE0OAs

Take the spaces out, by the way. Anyway, this is the song that Katherine and Wade danced to at the party. It's a beautiful song and I really recommend listening to it. :D

* * *

She had onyx colored hair and stunning mossy green eyes that somehow worked with her facial features.

I admitted to myself that my brother's girlfriend was a very pretty girl and I secretly wished that she had the worst personality ever. From what I had known of her so far, I highly doubted that my wish would come true.

The previous day had been the day that Wade and I had arrived in Burrsville, Alabama, and I had a scary roller coaster of emotions. There was still a big, ebony horse that was living in our red barn that I wished wasn't there. Although I didn't want to be here, at least Wade was here with me. With every passing minute, I was realizing how much I needed Wade here and how much I loved it that he wasn't repulsed by my family yet.

But Sarah, Dusty's girlfriend, was now smiling softly and looking down at me while shaking my hand. She had to be five-six or five-seven easily.

"I've heard a lot about you," she said smoothly, in a Southern but classy accent. "Dusty really looks up to you and always talks about how you moved to Canada to play hockey. I think it's so cool that you would do something that big just to chase down your dream."

I chuckled at the way she worded that. "Well, he doesn't look _up_to me, but thank you. It was a tough decision, but I met my fiance Wade up in Lanigan and I don't think I'd take that back."

Sarah looked up at Wade, who towered over everyone except Billy, and smiled politely. She almost looked intimidated by Wade and I could see why. His who appearance was just absolutely scary if you didn't know him, especially to a girl. And it wasn't the horror-movie scary, it was more like the way you would treat an amazingly beautiful, five-eleven model.

Everyone in the small kitchen laughed, including Mom, who wouldn't stop cooking. She was pacing the small kitchen, getting everything out and making everything that you could possibly imagine. Wade, Mom, Dad, Dusty, Billy, Sarah, and I were all crowded into the little room. I was certain that Mom would blow up in a mad, frustrated temper tantrum if we didn't get out of her way.

"Alla y'all better get intah the livin' room so y'all don't suffocate from all this heat in'da kitchen," Mom yelled over all the chatter, making us seem like school kids that wouldn't stop chattering.

I grabbed Wade's hand and shuffled into the living room where it suddenly became quiet. "Are you and Wade going to take us to the fair tomorrow?" Billy asked me excitedly.

Wade turned to me and I shrugged. "I guess so," I said to the three teenagers who were looking expectantly at me. My heart pumped out more blood than usual when I saw the adorable smiles on the two boy's faces, bringing back the 11 and 13 year old's that I remembered more than these strangers.

"Wait, Kathy and Wade are takin' y'all up to Birmingham tomorrow for the fair?" Dad interjected in a biting tone, he obviously was not happy with this idea.

"Yes. Mom told me I could take them to the fair and so I am," I told Dad sternly, feeling awkward afterward for speaking to him that way.

"Well, you all know that you should be careful. There's a bunch'a freaks up there and I don't want y'all to get hurt," he lied convincingly. I knew the real reason he didn't want us going was because he didn't like Wade and didn't want us together when we were outside a 20 mile radius of him. Maybe if Wade hadn't been so_ intimidating_ and absolutely huge, Dad wouldn't have been so worried.

I, being a daughter and not a father, didn't exactly know where my dad was coming from, though. Was he seeing the same hockey player that was sitting beside me? I don't think that anyone would mess with us as long as we had Wade with us.

"Yeah, Dad, we know. You're forgetting I'm 21, I think I'm a responsible adult by now, right?"

Before Dad could respond to my smart-ass comment, Mom entered the living room in a grand fashion and announced that dinner was ready. But instead of a, "Dinner is served," in a french accent, it was more of a, "Y'all betta get in that kitchen 'fore yer dinner gets cold as ice." Class; the only word to describe my family. Wade and I were the only ones to chuckle at Mom's Southern-style bluntness.

I had to appreciate the fact that mom could still cook a feast. There were only seven of us but of course she had to make enough food to feed seven starving families in Ethiopia.

Once we were all seated - and said grace - the story time requests around the table started to fly. "Kathy, tell us some stuff about Lanigan with Uncle Tommy and Aunt Gale!" I snuck a glance at Sarah who looked relieved that it wasn't her who was being bombarded with questions.

"Well..." I trailed off, not knowing where to begin.

"There was the first time we met," Wade began, having everyones attention shifting to him. "Katherine was practicing hockey at the old rink at four in the morning and it turns out that I was there, too. I remember she, uhh, fell and helped her up and told her that her hockey stop was kind of messy. She got really mad and challenged me to a one-on-one and the first time I beat her without a problem, but the second time she somehow got past me and got the puck in the net."

The expressions on the five others were priceless. Mom was glowing at the "cute" story, Dad was grumbling something incoherent, my two brothers were indifferent, and Sarah looked like she was thinking of something way off in La-la Land.

"You know, that's really sweet," Sarah said quietly, looking back and forth between Wade and I. "It's like something you'd read in a book."

I'd never thought about my life in the way that Sarah had just told me. That weird magnetic force felt like it was pulling me to Wade and I got a lump in my throat just by being near him. Under the table, I grabbed his hand and held it tightly, feeling like this was just a dream - or a book - that could end at any minute.

Here I was, overreacting over something that an eighteen year old pointed out to me. What if this was just a dream? What if I was going to wake up in Alabama and still sixteen years old and the past five years of my life was nothing but a figment of my imagination. Christ, I'd have a vivid one imagination for a sixteen year old in her sleep, wouldn't I?

When those baby blue eyes found mine, I knew that there was nothing to worry about. Those eyes were _real_ and that was a fact. No one could possibly make that much emotion and longing in those eyes inside their heads, much less an adolescent.

"Well, that sure is a nice story to tell kids," Mom began as Dad choked on an ice cube at the mention of Wade and I have kids. I couldn't help but snicker at Dad's reaction, he was so dramatic.

"Oh, Fred, cut it out. They're gettin' married fer God sakes. You can't 'spect them to not have kids. Now, I'm not sayin' that they gonna have babies now, but one day they will, so get over it 'fore I come over there and beat it through that little pea-brain of yers." Once again, class.

Luckily, my lovely little brother came to the rescue. I wasn't sure if it was inadvertantly or not, but I was still thankful. "Do you have any other stories about Lanigan?"

I quickly took this opportunity to bring up a different subject. "There was the time that we were seniors and it had snowed almost three feet in a week, do you remember that?"

Wade nodded and began telling more stories of when we were in high school and didn't care about anything other than hockey and each other. I sat next to him, holding his hand underneath the table and remembering all the stupid high school stories that he was telling.

This gorgeous, blue-eyed man was going to be my husband and this had to be real, or else I would be waking up as the most miserable teenager ever.


	9. That Familiar Face

My break has been fun. I've had a lot of nice inspirations for this story and I've seen a lot of things that make me want to write this story even more. It's been funny because I had no clue how much hockey was a huge part of my life until its been gone. You know, with the Stanley Cup Finals going on right now, I've been a religiously faithful Pittsburgh Penguins fan. Although I'm sure Detroit will win the Cup this year, but I'm trying to be a believer. :D

Anyway, its been a week or two since I've updated, so here you go and enjoy.

WARNING: This chapter contains "horse language" which, for all you people who don't know what a lot of horse words, _don't worry_, I've put an apostrophe (**_'_**) beside anything that you may not be aware of the meaning and put the definitions below. Sorry about this chapter being horse Esq, but just go along with it for now. (:

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There's this point in your life when you realize that you're an adult. Most people get to this point when they start to live away from home or when they get engaged but that point for me was here at the oddest of times.

The fact that I was an adult hit me when I took my brothers and Sarah to the fair in Birmingham and realized that I didn't want to go on all the scary rides or play the stupid rip-off games; I wanted to look at exhibits. I found myself feeling older than dirt.

I had remembered all the times that my parents had wanted to look at the exhibits while I tugged at their shirts and whined to go do the fun things.

"Are you going to follow us around or are you going to let us go?" Dusty asked, holding Sarah's hand and staring at me with look that even a blind person could tell was saying, 'let us go.' I'd been in Alabama for three days and he already wanted to get rid of me.

"Fine, here's fifty bucks. Use it wisely, guys," I sighed, handing Billy a Ulysses S. Grant with caution. I eyed his hand as he stuck it in his pocket. "I swear, if you lose that I'll hurt you."

"C'mon Kathy, you know I won't," he replied. I nodded, knowing that if I were to trust at least one of my brothers, Billy would be that one. I watched the three skip away with grins on their faces.

"What shall we do first?" I asked Wade who was in his own bubble.

"Let's just walk around and see."

The fairgrounds were cleaned up a lot more than they were in my childhood. The rides were more advanced and the games were bigger and harder than I had remembered, but it was still the Alabama State Fair, nonetheless.

"Do you want to go check out the horse show? I think today is the jumping stuff according to the program," Wade suggested, pointing to the horse complex on the fairground map. I shrugged and felt a pang in my chest with all the memories of showing Sleepy in that arena.

The familiar smell of horses became clear as we made our way toward the barns and arena. This place was the same as it had been since the days that I was a teenager. There was the same inscribing on the brick wall at the entrance of the horse grounds that read, 'K. Meyer & Sleep Tight Darlin' ALSHJC 1999.'

"Wade, Wade!" I tugged his sleeve to get his attention. He stopped next to me and squinted to see what I was pointing at.

"Did you carve that out?" He asked with a smirk playing on his lips. I nodded with a laugh, surprised that it was still there. "What does the 'Sleep Tight Darlin' and 'ALSHJC' mean?"

"That's Sleepy's show name and it means Alabama State Hunter Jumper Champions," I said, having_ more_ memories of that year that I won the State show with Sleepy.

"Kathy Meyer?" A Southern accent asked from behind me. I turned around to see a girl around my age in her show uniform; a hunter green jacket, beige jodhpurs**_'_**, tall black leather boots, black leather gloves, and a hard helmet. I knew those green eyes from somewhere. I thought furiously, trying to remember who this girl was, but then I remembered who she was with a startle.

"_Mary?!_" I squealed, running up to her quickly and giving her a bear hug. She jumped up and down.

"Oh, my goodness! I didn't think I'd ever see ya again, Kathy, you just left for that cold country to play _hockey_, of all things, and I was so scared that you'd get swept up by some creepy Canadian, hockey playing boy and then get married and move away and then you'd forget all about me and your family and Burrsville and all your horses," she said quickly in one, long sentence, without taking a breath. My eyes widened at what she'd said and I laughed nervously. Mary furrowed her eyebrows and looked behind me, obviously focusing on Wade. "Are you with him?"

I pulled away from Mary and walked back to Wade, pulling him closer to Mary so I could introduce them. "Mary Harrison, meet Wade Brookbank, my fiance. Wade, this is my best friend Mary."

"Oh, God. I'm so sorry I said that. I'm guessing that you're the creepy Canadian, hockey playing boy that she's gettin' married to." Wade laughed and held up his hand.

"It's fine, Canada can get a little creepy at times," Wade defended with a million dollar smile on his face that could melt any girl right into their black leather boots here on the horse show grounds. I glanced at Mary, who was visibly melting.

"How are you, though? You seem different, in a good way," I asked her. She did seem different. Out of all the years I'd known Mary, which had been a lot, I'd never seen her actually _ride _in a horse show. She'd always been the groomer or the assistant, but never on the horse in the show ring. Mary was one of the best riders that I knew, she could ride anything from old, calm horses to young, spirited horses. I guess after what had happened to me, I understood that fear that she had to be in the ring at shows.

"Well, life's been good to me, I guess. I've got a nice horse named Mateo who is an Italian Warmblood**_'_**. He's a good, solid jumper that will go over anything you put in front of him. I'm tellin' you Kath, I jumped him over a 5-foot-2 vertical**_'_** in a double line**_'_** just yesterday before the show and he left at least a quarter of a foot to spare," she gushed excitedly to me. I was stunned - it's not everyday that you find a horse that can do that.

I somehow picked up on the fact that although she was saying a lot, she was holding back on something else. "Mary, how are _you_?"

"You don't let anything by you, do you Kathy?" She sighed with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I'm fine, really. I've had a few nasty boyfriends, that's the case. Ma's doin' okay and Pa's still running the farm. He doesn't like the fact that I've got some 'sissy European horse' doing some 'sissy European sport' but I like jumping more than roping some baby cow or runnin' as fast as I can 'round a buncha barrels."

I nodded in understanding. That's what I got from a lot of people for jumping horses _and _playing hockey. In the south, a lot of people liked their culture and theirs only. Luckily, my parents supported horse jumping and hockey, unlike Mary's Dad.

"Hey, Kathy, my classes**_'_** start in about an hour and a half and I was wondering if you could get on Mateo and go over a few jumps before I have to go in. I've gotta help a little girl named Jill braid her pony's mane before the children's jumping classes." I wasn't sure how to respond. There was no way that I'd be able to get on a horse after five years and ride it without messing the poor animal up.

"I don't have the right clothes or anything," was my lame excuse. Something inside me secretly knew that I didn't want Wade to see me ride when his impression was that I was some amazing rider.

"I've got a helmet and you can just take him over a few jumps out in the warm-up arena," Mary insisted, catching on to my resistance and giving me a look.

"Fine."

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The Glossary:

**Jodhpurs: **(_used with a plural verb_) riding breeches cut very full over the hips and tapering at the knees to become tight-fitting from the knees to the ankles.

**Warmblood: **a group of middle-weight horse types and breeds, primarily originating in Europe, registered with different organizations according to the country or region bred in, and the aim of breeding for equestrian sport.

**Vertical: **a jump that consists of poles or planks placed one directly above another with no spread, or width, to jump.

**Double-Line: **a line or combination of two jumps one after the other with a certain number of galloping strides in between.

**Classes:** a group of horses with similar training or characteristics compete against one another for awards and, often, prize money.


	10. You've Got it Back, Girl

This is a quicker update. A new major character is going to be introduced in this chapter and I'm kind of sort of totally crushing on him at the moment. For all the hockey fans reading, I'm very sorry about the chapters being so horsey-ish. Hockey will be back soon, I promise... and this new character is just the type of guy to bring it back. Wink wink.

Anyway, enjoy the story and please review. I love and live off of reviews. Plus, if you'd like me to update more often, I'm just putting it out there that reviews fuel me big time. xD

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I didn't know what I was getting myself into until I saw the monstrous dark brown horse eating hay quietly in his stall. A saddle was already atop his back and a tall, redheaded girl was patting his neck lovingly.

"Bonnie, can you bridle him up? A friend of mine is going to warm him up before my classes begin," Mary asked the girl who was apparently named Bonnie. Bonnie took a quick glance at me, then Wade. Her surprised expression was clearly visible as she rushed out of the stall to grab the bridle off the hook that was attached to the stall door.

"H-hello, I'm Bonnie," she stuttered, introducing herself while extending her hand toward me.

"Katherine," I replied softly, thinking about what I was going to do when I would fall off, not about meeting this girl. "Oh, and this is Wade, my fiance."

He nodded to her nicely and she melted, making me laugh silently. Snapping out of her trance, she quickly made her way into Mateo's stall and put the bridle on his head.

I didn't think the horse could get any bigger until the reins and a helmet was being offered to me. Mary gave me a boost up onto the gentle animal and I suddenly felt like I was up in the clouds, almost literally. "Now, Kathy, he's a realy simple horse to ride. You just have to sit up there and make sure he's constantly paying attention to you. Just have tight reins and make sure to keep his head low. When he jumps, he speeds up before the jump and then slows to concentrate over the jump. Don't kick him, just ask him to do what you want and he will."

I tried to take everything in as Mary chattered on and on about the techniques used to ride Mateo. Finally, we were at the warm-up arena and Wade followed Mary to rail on the outside of the fence.

_Here we go_, I thought, squeezing my legs and clucking my tongue, sending Mateo into a steady trot. I followed all of Mary's instructions, feeling confident while trotting around the ring. After getting my nerve up, I made a kissing sound and asked the horse to canter. His long, powerful stride felt like I was sitting in a rocking chair.

"I'm putting up this jump to 2-foot-9. He can do it easily, but its you I'm worried about," Mary said in a joking tone - ironically enough, she most likely wasn't kidding. She had jumped the fence and took a few long walking strides to one of the obstacles that was set up in the warm-up arena which was surprisingly empty. Wade, still standing awkwardly at the fence, gave me a wink that spread a warm feeling of confidence throughout my body.

Smoothly, Mateo transitioned from a walk to a slow, collected canter. His large neck curled in response to my fingers that clutched the reins tightly. Rounding the turn of the ring, I lined up the big brown horse with the jump that loomed ahead. I could feel the legs of the animal speed up, a subconscious reaction by Mateo who was trained to go fast and precise. Just before taking off into the air, he slowed a considerable amount and took his time to study the jump for a split second before floating effortlessly over the jump. I leaned forward and pushed myself out of the saddle to let the horse over the jump with more speed. Everything was in slow motion as Mateo's front hooves landed on the ground and I leaned back into the saddle again, holding the reins back and making sure that this animal wouldn't take off freely after we'd landed completely. His back legs hit the ground and he calmly galloped around, flaunting the fact that he could jump.

Faintly, I heard clapping that grew a little bit louder as I slowly came out of the daze that I was in. "That's it right there, Kathy. You've already got it back, girl."

Soon, Mary had up about 8 jumps ranging from heights of 2-foot-9 all the way up to four feet - I absolutely disagreed with that height, but in the end, Mateo sailed over four feet without blinking. We were flying around the ring with each jump blending together perfectly. He listened to every cluck I made with my tongue, every tap I'd make with the crop, and every hand movement I'd make with the reins. I had to hand it to Mary - she'd bought a very nice horse. Out of my years of riding, I'd only met two other horses that would listen this well, they happened to be living in the red barn beside my parents house.

After a reasonable time for a warm-up, I stopped Mateo at the ring where Wade was standing by himself. Mary had left to go help a little girl braid her pony's mane. "How do you think I did?" I asked breathlessly, patting the horses thick neck.

"Well, it was kind of sexy," Wade joked loudly, looking like he was about to hop the fence and get up on the horse with me.

"_Wade_," I hissed with wide eyes, looking around at the busy people. The warm-up ring had filled up to about ten horses with trainers and entourage for the horses and riders in the ring. The two of us received a glare and a shocked expression for that one. Great.

Wade laughed and winked his signature wink while blowing me a kiss. "I love you," he said in a mushy tone, attempting to embaress me.

"Yes, Wade, I love you, too." I rolled my eyes at his sad attempts.

"Katherine Meyer?" A deep voice asked from down the ring. I could not believe that I was seeing this face... he wasn't in the right setting, that's for sure. A broad smile was set on his tanned face and his black hair was grown out in a shaggy hair-do. This was not a face from my past, it was Maxime Talbot of the Pittsburgh Penguins who Wade had played with a few years ago in the minor leagues. "Oh, my God! Brooksy! Damn, how did you guys end up in Birmingham?"

"Maaad Max," Wade choked out with a hysterical laugh giving him a 'brotha-hug', obviously happy to see a familiar face. "I think we should be asking you that."

"Well, I was thinking, 'Hmm, its the off-season... where should I go to pick up a girl?' And then suddenly I found myself in Birmingham, Alabama. They're a tad bit beer and cowboy obsessed down here, though. Anyway, what are you two doing here?"

"Katherine's parents live here and we came down to tell them the news."

Max looked confused until I lifted up my hand and let my ring glitter in the bright overhead sun. "We're engaged."

"Wow! That's so awesome. I'm so happy for you guys! I can't even pick up a girl, let alone get married, you know?" Max said, looking a little blue for a second, then regaining his peppy aura that always surrounded him.

Before anyone could respond, Mary strolled up with a somber expression. "Kathy, can I ask you a very, very important question?" She didn't seem to notice that we were talking to Max at all.

I swung my leg over Mateo and slid down to the dusty ground of the ring. "Yeah, what is it?"

"The little girl that I was just helping out with got sick... like, throwing up sick and her mom said that it was food poisoning because apparently she's a nurse and knows just about everything," she stopped and took a breath, then continued. "And this little girl absolutely needs to be in this show or else she won't qualify for Nationals and this is her absolute dream even though she's 14 years old and-"

"Mary, stop! Yes, I'll ride the horse. Just give me some clothes to wear and give me a time frame of when I'm supposed to up and on," I interrupted Mary before she could faint from talking so much without taking a breath.

"Oh, my goodness. Kathy I love you so much, do you know that?"

"Yes," I replied flatly, leading Mateo out of the ring and handing him off to Wade who's wide eyes screamed, 'No! Don't give _me _the goddamn horse!'

It was then that Mary saw Max for the first time and I could feel the world stop turning for a millisecond as her green eyes connected with his aqua-colored eyes. Her face that was once flooded with worry somehow erased all her troubles that she was facing at the moment.

I think Max was now successful in the trying-to-find-a-girl attempt and he was just the kind of guy that Mary needed.


	11. Is That You, Kathy?

Another update. Sorry its been a while. I have exams and a few more days of school. I promise I'll get more up soon with summer coming and all. It'll be a great way to start off summer seeing that this story is based in the summer time. (:

Also, I have big plans for this story. It may not be until the end of summer to be finished and even then, I'm possibly planning out a sequel, which is still in the works. Anyway, enjoy reading and please send in feedback! I live off of reviews. xD

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I couldn't - once again - believe that I had agreed to Mary's crazy idea of riding this little girl's pony. Not only that, but I was to pretend that I was the little girl. Luckily, she was the same height and blonde hair coloring that I had. It was almost too weird to be a coincedence. The girl, Bethany, was grateful that I was doing this for her. She feverishly, literally, spoke to me about the techniques used to ride this pony of her's who was appropriately named Hurricane Harry.

I stood in the chute that led to the main arena where jumps of three-foot-three were set up in a complex course. I had quickly memorized the order of the course and after others, I was finally called into the arena.

"Watch out for jump five, it spooked my horse because of the flowers on the bottom," the girl coming out of the ring muttered to me as her horse pranced out of the gate. I nodded to her in thanks for the heads-up.

Briskly, the pony trotted into the ring with its ears pinned forward and its feet floating off the ground. The beep of the timer went off as I crossed the starting line and headed to the first jump. Harry took the jump with ease, seeming more eager to jump with every stride.

Tight turns and quick lines were mixed up throughout the whole course but despite the difficulty, the little reddish-brown pony finished the course with the fastest time and no rails knocked down. We had a sucessfully clear round. Now all we had to do was wait and see if any of the last three riders could beat our time. If not, Harry and Bethany would be on their way to Nationals.

The next rider finished clean but her time was almost 5 seconds behind Harry's. After her was a big white horse with a big white girl on its back. I inwardly laughed at that joke that I had made inside my head, recieving odd looks from the others who were waiting patiently. The horse tore down one rail, automatically meaning she wouldn't win. The last horse looked older than the rest and very familiar. The way it moved and the facial features were too hard to ignore. I knew this horse.

I glanced quickly at the rider, in hope that I was someone I knew so I could place where I knew this horse from. When gazing upon the rider, my heart stood still for what seemed like too long. I needed to stop seeing familiar faces, it was beginning to be too much to bear. I decided to not approach the rider after he exited the ring. I was supposed to be a fourteen year old girl named Bethany Walker, right? I was not Katherine Meyer right now, that's for sure.

My mind was reeling over this guy so much that I didn't realize that he'd had a clean round but was one second behind my time with Harry. I had won.

"And the winner of class 142 - 13 & Up Hunter Jumper Championship goes to Number 28, Bethany Walker on Hurricane Harry. Owned and Ridden by Bethany Walker," the announcer called over the intercom. From inside the arena, there was clapping and a few hollars, most likely from the extroverted Max. I trotted the pony into the ring to recieve Bethany's trophy and ribbon. I couldn't believe that after two hours since getting back on a horse in five years, I had just won another State Championship. It may not have been_ me, _but I was the one who rode.

"I can't believe you actually won that," Wade exclaimed, meeting me just outside of the arena where I was bombarded by Wade, Mary, Max, Bethany, and Bethany's mother.

"Thank you so much! I'm going to _Nationals_ because of you. You don't understand how absolutely amazing that is. Thank you so much!" Bethany squealed, looking a little on the green side.

"I told you you've got it back, Kathy," Mary said while rolling her eyes and smiling brightly, still amused by Max's yelling inside the arena. I hopped off Harry the pony and began walking toward the stalls in which Mary had all her stuff set up. Bonnie the groom grinned ear to ear when she saw the trophy that we set on the tack box.

"You did it! You guys pulled it off!" Bonnie was truly in awe, although neither Bethany or Bonnie knew me that well.

In the trailer that had a dressing room, I changed quickly back into my clothes that I had come in and pulled my blonde hair into a high, bouncy ponytail. It was then that I saw that horse with _him_ leading him past us, paying no attention to us.

"Matt! Whattayah think you're doing?" Mary yelled at him at the top of her lungs. I saw Max gulp. He thought for sure that they had something going on. But as I thought how rediculous he was acting, I found myself gulping as well.

Matt turned around smiling and mouth open, ready to fire a comeback. "Well, I saw you and my eyes burned to the point where I just couldn't look at you anymore so I figured if I kept on walking, you know, I wouldn't " Oh, God. He was smiling that damn smile of his.

It was until he noticed me that he was jubilant. "_Kathy Meyer_?" His jaw dropped and his eyes looked like they would fall out at any second.

"Yep. I'm back in Alabama with my... my... fiance Wade Brookbank," I stuttered a moment, still trying to take it in that Matt - of all people - was here. He was still as cute as he had been when he was 18. My heart spazzed out in rapidly uneven beats. He was the only guy other than Wade that I would have ever considered spending the rest of my life with. He was the guy before Wade, he was the guy that I left behind.

No, no, no. This couldn't be happening. I couldn't look him in the eye.

"That's so great, congratulations. I'm glad you're back." He gave me a soft smile. I finally gave up and looked into his eyes, I got goosebumps just looking. He looked hurt but hid it well, no one could tell except me. Matt was the guy that came before Wade. He was something that I gave up when I left and I never really regretted it - until now.

"Y-yeah. See you later," I said, barely audible, watching him wave to everyone and walk away.

Regret is an odd thing. My motto in life was to not regret anything and yet, here I was in Alabama feeling feelings that I hadn't felt _ever_. Regretting was starting to be all I felt the past few days.

It was quite silent as everyone let Matt's visit soak in. As I got over my thoughts, I looked at everyone else, trying to think of what they would be thinking. Wade was probably wondering who this random guy was that I visibly swooned over. Mary's face was showing that she now knew that grabbing Matt's attention was not a good thing. Bethany was patting her State Champion pony, not paying a bit of attention to us. And Max looked relieved; relieved to know that Mary wasn't attracted to Matt in the way he'd originally thought.

Breaking everyone from the silence, my ringtone of 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For' by U2 went off. I quickly pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and answered it, not bothering to check the caller ID.

"Hello?" I answered.

"_Kathy, where are you two?!_" It was Billy's concerned voice over the crackling phone that wasn't getting the best service inside of this barn. I'd completely forgotten about my two brothers that were still at the fair.

"Oh, my gosh! I completely forgot. Wade and I are over at the horse grounds and I guess we'll be over there in a few minutes, if you'd like."

"_Nah. It's okay. Sarah wants to keep walking off all the stuff she ate... OW!... Sorry, she just hit me. Anyway, we'll just come over there since the car is pretty much closer to the arena over there than it is here. What barn are you in?_" My brothers knew their way around the horse grounds like the back of their hands. The two of them practically grew up here considering this was where a vast majority of my horse shows had taken place.

"Umm, I think we're in Barn C." I recieved a nod from Mary who obviously knew for sure what letter barn we were in. "Yeah, we're in C. I'll see you in a few."

"_Yeah, see y'all later._" I heard the click of him hanging up, then hung up myself. Slowly, I turned back to everyone else and cleared my throat before announcing that we were about to leave. Oddly enough, I wanted to stay with Mary, Max, Bethany, and Bonnie, but I knew that it was some sick attempt to see Matt one more time. I couldn't let that happen or else having a fiance may not be my status in a couple of days.


	12. Change of Plans

It has been a very, very long time since I've updated because, well, I don't really have an excuse. I'm just lazy. Sorry. D:

This chapter is almost a turning point in the way Katherine thinks... almost. I really hope that everyone enjoys it and I promise to have the the next chapter up soon. I guess I've just been very busy with barn-chores and taking care of the horses this summer. Hopefully I'll find more time to write, and possibly more inspiration. (;

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I tried really hard to just forget his face _and_ his name. The whole hour-long ride back home was excruciating as I sat up front with Wade driving like an old man in precaution to my nauseous feeling. Every few minutes, he'd sneak a sly glance into my direction to see if I was okay. He knew that I hated to be asked the phrase, "Are you okay?" It didn't sit well with me because I couldn't stand the fact that people obviously could tell I wasn't doing well if my pained expression wasn't a big enough clue.

"Do you need some Advil or something for your headache because I can take this exit and grab you something," Wade asked softly with a pained face, extending his arm to my back. Soon a soft, warm hand was on my shoulder, attempting to loosen me up.

"No, I-I'm fine," I replied shakily, feeling my heart sink itself into a hole that was just digging deeper. I looked at Wade lovingly, who seemed so vulnerable at the time. "Thank you, though."

He shot me a faint smile, making me breath irregularly. "Whoa, oh. Come take my hand," Wade sang 'Thunder Road' under his breath, in hope that it would cheer me up. He put his hand in my lap which I quickly took and held as if my life depended on it.

I heard a cough, then a clearing of the throat, and lastly a sigh come from the backseat where Billy, Dusty, and Sarah were all packed like cattle. "Can we quit the romantic crap and play some music in the car or something? I think I'm about the throw up back here," Dusty complained in an agitated tone.

"Dusty! That's so sweet. I think that its awesome that your sister is in love, why can't you be happy for her?" Sarah almost screeched, defensively.

"I am happy for her, its just that I don't want to see my _sister_ being all mushy... its creepy," he replied in a calmed manner to his hopelessly romantic girlfriend. I could tell that she was the type of girl who had her nose in romance novels almost every hour of the day.

"Well, how do you think I feel about _you_having a girlfriend. You're still my little, sweet, innocent brother. Who knows what you two do," I snapped, making the two teenagers blush madly. Ew. Bad thoughts.

"Come on, Kathy. You and Wade _live together_ for God's Sake. Who knows what you two do while you're not at hockey practice," Billy said with a mind-set that seemed a little too mature for a sixteen year old.

"Wade's probably too tired after hockey practices and games, Billy. They have to sort their... times around Wade's schedule so he's not dead-tired," Dusty replied with a snide tone.

"At least we do... _stuff..._ legally." I shot my two brothers a glare that could kill, telling them to back off the subject if they still wanted to be alive in the next few moments. An awkward silence filled the car's atmosphere, in which Wade broke with a howling laughter. "What?!"

"Nothing," Wade sighed, shaking off the laughter fit. I waved it off and turned on the radio, hoping that this conversation wouldn't come up again. After a while of driving and giving helpless Wade the directions to the house, we were finally back at the little farm where my parents were sitting on the front porch with glasses of sweet tea in their hands.

"Y'all are back!" Mom exclaimed, waving frantically at us five. Something was off, I could tell. When my mother wasn't up and bombarding us with hugs, something had to be very, very wrong. "How was it?!"

All of us made our way up to the porch. "Well, I..."

"Katherine won State Championship in jumping," Wade said quickly when I hesitated. My brothers and Sarah had yet to receive this news, which ultimately meant that I got odd stares.

"We ran into Mary over at the horse show and one of her students got sick and the student needed to win this show to get to Nationals, so I hopped on the pony and pretended to be the little girl and I won the class."

"Wow," Dad whistled with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey, Katherine and Wade... can we talk to y'all in private for a second?" Mom asked, forgetting about what I'd just said - which was very unlike her, again.

"Yeah, sure." Wade and I sat down on the love seat across from my parent's chairs as the three teenagers went inside the house, pretending like they weren't listening.

"Well, yer dad and I are just gonna cut to the chase. We were wonderin' when y'all were plannin' on gettin' married."

I turned to Wade with a distressed expression, not really knowing what we were going to do about that at all. He didn't look like he had any ideas to input into the conversation. Then again, he was a man. "Well, Mom. I'm not quite sure. I was thinking maybe next January or sometime in the winter." Both parent's shifted uncomfortably, as if this time would not be suitable for the two. "Why?"

'Your momma and I really wanted you two to get married down here in Alabama. We were thinking that maybe you guys could stay for the rest of the summer and get married at the end of summer," Dad suggested with almost pleading eyes. Something was very off, but I didn't want to push anything with the people who gave me life.

Wade simply shrugged. "I don't mind. All I need is to be back in Raleigh before August 24th. That's when training camp starts back up to start the season again. Plus, January would be tough because that's right in a tough time during the season. I doubt I'd be able to get married and have a honeymoon during that part of the season."

Mom and Dad seemed relieved instantly. "Oh, honey! Thank yah so much, sugar," Mom exclaimed, standing up slowly and giving both Wade and me huge hugs. She looked a lot more tired than usual and her whole presence implied that she wasn't feeling too well.

I weakly smiled and hugged her back, getting a bad, bad gut feeling. Something was very different about my parents, and I needed to find out what.


End file.
